Injustice and maltreatment is what we are going through. The time has come for us to feel what our grandparents felt back in 1948; the loss of rights and dignity, the loss of holy religious heritage to the hands of cold-blooded murderers, the illegal controllers and the assassins of human rights. Despite all of these outrageous issues, there aren’t any united swords willing to haul back our rights. Thus, exacerbating our position even more.

With Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, did you stop to wonder why such a verdict would be made now, despite it being opposed by many US allies? In Trump’s recent speech he said, “there will of course be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement, but we are confident that, ultimately, as we work through this disagreement, we will arrive at peace and a place far greater in understanding and cooperation. This sacred city should call forth the best for humanity, lifting our sights to what is possible, not pulling us back and down to the old fights that have become so totally predictable.”

Our conventional attitude towards their ignorant deeds have in fact become very predictable.

We are going to present anger towards this so-called peaceful aggressive decision for a couple of months, or even a couple of weeks; then, as usual, turn a blind eye to the situation. Trump knows that the Arab community is the weakest it has ever been. We are disconnected and buried in our own inner conflicts; what is a better time than now to commit an act of infringement towards Palestinians and Arabs?

Where are our Arab leaders; the ones who are supposed to fight for our rights and protect our land? Where are those who have a certain hierarchy of power? We fear that the leaders of the world will submit to this decision, bearing on their own agendas with excuses that are smaller than the situation we are in.

We still need to be reassured that we haven’t forgotten; that despite our different backgrounds, we can stand together and say that Al Quds belongs to Palestine. We like to believe that we have not been manipulated or brainwashed and that we are still capable of standing together to claim what is ours. Our student protests did not change any laws or scare world leaders but we will not be quiet. As Arabs, we have been raised in homes advocating for a Free Palestine. From time to time, we chant slogans, engage in demonstrations and share posts on social media for those who have no voice to be heard. These efforts are all meaningful.

Although our voices may be belittled, we will not be quiet. We will make our voices heard; be it in our university campus and one day in Al Aqsa.

Arab unity is beyond important today. However, we are not brothers when we lose empathy towards one other. We are not brothers when we disregard what we have made of ourselves. We are not brothers when passivity is the only language we speak. We are not brothers when we turn a blind eye to the sight of death. We are not brothers when we are deaf to the screams of our neighbors.

If you think that this act is the peak of aggression towards Palestinians, you are wrong. This is just the beginning of implementing their long-made plan of building the ‘great nation of Israel’ from the Nile to the Euphrates; as they would call it. What is better for us; to live on our knees or die on our feet?

Being voiceless today only means that we are going to be voiceless forever.

Speaking from our own political viewpoints, we hope to believe that Arab leaders would reject recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, thus leading into the end of Arab-Israeli relations. If our reasons were called weak before, they are not now. We should show the world that this decision is not the route to peace and “collaboration.” Instead, as citizens of Arab countries, we should collectively present anger towards this non-humanitarian act of aggression through all available means possible. From simple acts, such as the recent social media outrage to one day officially announcing Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, we will definitely be able to make a difference eventually.